Concentrates or “master batches” of additive concentrates, color concentrates or the like and methods for preparing the same for addition to and dispersion in plastics, polymers, resins, etc. are known. Color concentrates generally consist of high concentrations of pigment dispersed in, and bound by a binder resin of a type similar to the medium to be pigmented. Color concentrates overcome the problem typically associated with free or natural state pigment such as dustiness and their tendency to become airborne and contaminate their surroundings.
Color concentrates predominantly contain pigments at a much higher concentration than is required in a final colored product. They are usually available in pellets, chips or non-dusting powders which are dry blended before processing with virgin or recycled polymeric resin in the correct proportions to achieve a preferred depth of color in the final product. The binder is conventionally selected to correspond substantially identically with the material being colored, e.g. powdered polyethylene binder for concentrates added to polyethylene. Thus if many different base resins are utilized, numerous different concentrates with different binders must be kept on hand. It would therefore be desirable to provide a color concentrate with a binder system which is compatible with a large number of resins or polymeric materials.
Furthermore, color concentrates and resins are typically processed in typical polymer processing machinery under high pressures which can cause physical imperfections in the final molded products. It would therefore be desirable to provide a composition which could reduce these physical imperfections.